“Mommy blogs in general tend to be everyday diaries of details one might share over coffee — baby’s first step or the perils of finding a preschool. Most are blander than Dooce, less humorous and significantly less profane.”

“Mommy blogs in general tend to be everyday diaries of details one might share over coffee — baby’s first step or the perils of finding a preschool.”

I am afraid I have to disagree with that characterization. I am a mother and a blogger and have been lumped in the category of “mommy bloggers” for some time. But my blog, PunditMom, focuses on political topics. I focus on politics at a variety of other outlets, as well, including MOMocrats, MomsRising and BlogHer. Yesterday, I wrote a post for The Huffington Post entitled Blogging is the New Feminist Act.

To characterize mothers who blog as people who just want to write about baby’s first step or finding a preschool is incorrect. A multitude of women blog about many other things about their lives, their thoughts and their beliefs. A short tour of the blogosphere will produce many examples.

I would love to talk with you about this aspect of mothers and blogging, which has received very little attention in the media, if you are ever writing on this topic in the future.

To my surprise, a few days later, I received a very nice response from Shellenbarger, saying she’d like to submit my letter to her as a possible letter to the editor to run in response to her article! Pay dirt! Of course, my letter wasn’t short enough, so she asked, and I agreed to, have my letter submitted as follows:

Sue Shellenbarger characterized mommy blogs as “everyday diaries of details one might share over coffee — baby’s first step or the perils of finding a preschool.” As a mother and a blogger, I disagree. My blog, PunditMom, focuses on political topics. To characterize mothers who blog as people who just want to write about baby’s first step or finding a preschool is incorrect. A multitude of women blog about many other topics arising from their lives, their thoughts and their beliefs. This aspect of mothers and blogging has received very little attention in the media.

To characterize mothers who blog as people who just want to write about baby’s first step or finding a preschool is incorrect. A multitude of women blog about many other topics in their lives, including their thoughts and their beliefs. This aspect of mothers and blogging has received very little attention in the media.

Still not bad, but not exactly what I was trying to convey.

So a lesson to all of us — don’t beat around the bush and be more succinct if you want your meaning to come through for others to read!

Thank you for doing the networking and followup the rest of us are too lazy to do…well, OK, I’m speaking for myself.

But I hate the connotation of the term “mommyblogger” because is does nothing short of pigeonhole an incredibly diverse group of women. I have four kids who are the occasional blog fodder, but it is really a fraction of the writing I do, there’s more to me than my kids and the sooner mainstream media can embrace that, the better.

I think it comes across just fine – a quick counter point, even if it wasn’t specific enough. I wish they had at least left in the term politics. Blogging about our “beliefs” could mean simply “I believe in breastfeeding.”

That is why I have resisted the label of “Mommyblogger”. It’s somehow diminishing, even though it shouldn’t be.

Good for you for writing to her. I always think about it but never do.

That said, I am interested in branching out a little and maybe doing some freelance work. How, exactly does one go about querying publications like those for which you write? If you don’t mind sharing your experience, could you email me? blog_antagonist@yahoo.com

Yeah…mainstream media…not so much trustworthy. So easy to take quotes, sound bites and words in general out of context. But so glad you stood up for us mommybloggers, especially those of us who blog about things other than baby’s first steps.

The limited definition of “mommy blogger” that the WSJ author used is exactly why I don’t like the term and prefer not to use it to define my style or genre. Yes, I am a mom and yes, I blog. But that’s like calling me a “Coffee blogger” because I like coffee and have a blog and occasionally write about coffee on my blog.

Must we ALWAYS define ourselves as mothers first? (OK, so it is the first word in the title of my blog…)

I’m proud of you for grabbing the initiative and writing, and doubly so for getting into the paper. I agree with Mom101 tho – wish they’d *at minimum* have left “politics” in as opposed to “beliefs.” Beliefs just sounds too — faith-based. blech.

Why can’t women be characterized as mothers without having to be simul-cast as religious-y? faith-y?

anyway. you rule for getting it in there anyway. *grumbles over dumb media*

Ahhh, don’t you just love editors? I mean for me, that is one of the reasons I blog, so I don’t have to put up with that crap! Thank goodness we don’t have to pay for the newsprint for our longwinded ideas!